Transcript of "Mc Allen Branding Campaign 2"

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Market Summary <ul><li>Market: past, present, & future </li></ul>There has been a long-term decline trend in the McAllen Economic Index signaling the ongoing contraction in the McAllen metro area general economy as defined by a sustained decline in overall economic activity . That decline began some 18 months ago, and over that period of time, the McAllen Economic Index has fallen by 10.6%, and has declined for 17 of those 18 months. - McAllen Economic Chamber Profile, 2008

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Product Definition <ul><li>City of McAllen is currently undergoing a branding campaign </li></ul><ul><ul><li>To create a place where people will want to live, shop, and do business </li></ul></ul>

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Product Definition <ul><li>If a city is to be considered a brand, it must start with a brand’s most </li></ul><ul><li>important characteristics; its fundamental properties. This means that a </li></ul><ul><li>good city must have the following: </li></ul><ul><li>Offer attractive employment. </li></ul><ul><li>Not be unduly expensive in relation to wages. </li></ul><ul><li>Provide good and affordable housing. </li></ul><ul><li>Have reasonable public transportation. </li></ul><ul><li>Have good schools and recreational/cultural attractions. </li></ul><ul><li>Have a reasonable climate. </li></ul><ul><ul><li>“ The Branding of Cities” by Julia Pfefferkorn, Syracuse University </li></ul></ul>

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Competition <ul><li>SWOT Analysis </li></ul><ul><li>Opportunities </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Young entrepreneurial population highly motivated to stay in the area </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Regional growth strong - McAllen is a trendsetter </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>I-69/1TC Infrastructure Texas Corridor road & rail development project will help the movement of people and goods, and the relocation efforts </li></ul></ul>

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Competition <ul><li>SWOT Analysis </li></ul><ul><li>Threats </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Anti-border economy sentiment and legislation -recent trend of border security, immigration reform, reports of drug related violence and a lack of understanding of the region by elected officials </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Delays in Transportation Infrastructure Development </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Brain Drain - limited influx of higher paying jobs for educated workers and the lack of satisfying employment will mean more of the educated youth will move away </li></ul></ul>

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Positioning <ul><li>Positioning of the City of McAllen </li></ul><ul><ul><li>It is an undisputed fact that McAllen is the retail center of South Texas and Northern Mexico, drawing from a consumer base of over 10 million people within a 200-mile radius. In the bi-national metropolitan area, McAllen retailers serve an immediate market population of 1.8 million. - McAllen Chamber Economic Profile, 2008 </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>McAllen has MORE retail stores, national chain restaurants, city festivals and activities, cultural arts, professional sports teams, and live music venues than any other city in the Valley. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>McAllen has affordable cost of living and mild weather. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>McAllen is near the Mexico border where medical services and less expensive pharmaceutical prescription medications are available. </li></ul></ul>

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Communication Strategies <ul><li>Creating a distinctive brand that captures the spirit of a city must be able to inspire - the travelers, the industry, and the general populace itself. </li></ul><ul><li>Cities should brand themselves in ways that are believable to the residents. </li></ul><ul><li>“ Branding of Cities” Julia Pfefferkorn </li></ul>

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Advertising <ul><ul><li>Create different TV ads for cable channels to promote McAllen to segment populations such as: </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>CNN, MNBC promoting business growth for the business person </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>The History Channel, Travel Channel, QVC for the tourist, retiree and Winter Texan - Show the City as balmy and tropical with a low cost of living (near Mexico for lower cost in medical services) </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Hispanic television stations Multimedios - Televisa in Monterey for the foreign national shopper </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Lifetime, Oxygen, and HGTV for female demographic promoting McAllen as a premiere shopping destination </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>MTV, VHI, HBO promote night life, concerts and sporting events , Art Walk to younger people </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox for festivals and concerts to families </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>To do just one ad or a couple of TV ads is not recommended - each ad must be different and fitting to the target </li></ul></ul>

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Other Promotion <ul><li>Direct marketing to Foreign Nationals </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Deliver direct-mail bargain bag filled with money saving coupons and promotional fliers, bargain booklets, and information and resources about participating sponsors left at doors in strategic neighborhoods in Monterey and Reynosa </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Deliver similar bargain bags to strategic neighborhoods in McAllen and surrounding cities </li></ul></ul>

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Other Promotion <ul><li>The M.O.R.E. Image </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Create Guerilla Marketing - Use the already established “M” create an artfully decorated “M” placed throughout the city - these are sponsored by businesses and organizations - example is the Bear in Knoxville, TN strategically placed around an inner city walking and shopping route </li></ul></ul>

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Other Promotion <ul><li>The M.O.R.E. Image </li></ul><ul><ul><li>M.O.R.E. Guerilla Marketing - Use a large, powerful light to shine a large “M” into the sky during weekends or special events like the Batman signal - into the air and on buildings at Art Walk </li></ul></ul>

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Other Promotion <ul><li>Social Media </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Use Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs to distribute information about city events, news and festivals to the public </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Cross promote by linking with other city websites, partnering with local businesses, use Adwords to tag web searches to McAllen i.e. Birding </li></ul></ul>

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Other Promotion <ul><li>M.O.R.E. Ideas </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Promote McAllen at other birding festivals around the country and in other countries - U.K., Spain, South America </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Promote McAllen at conventions in the colder areas of the U.S. in the North East and Mid West </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Create new festivals, especially a Music Festival that capitalizes on Tejano, Salsa, Merengue, Reggeton, Folklorico music, BUT also includes a wide range of music that can be held at venues throughout the city (similar to Austin) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Create a major marathon maybe combine both music and running for a “Rock-A-Thon” (San Antonio) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Embrace the “creative class” - work closely with the idea worker of creative class, people in science, engineering, architecture, education, art, music, and entertainment whose function it is to create new ideas and innovations - Creative Incubator or Creative think Tank </li></ul></ul>

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Other Promotion <ul><li>M.O.R.E. Ideas </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Continue to expand current festivals held in the city and the Art district </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Decorate extravagantly throughout the city during Christmas - This is the time when Mexicans and Americans enjoy the decorations found throughout neighborhoods - An enormous Christmas tree at the McAllen park or Convention Center, Tour of Homes highly decorated to create a “festive feeling” for the city </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Form a partnership to work with surrounding cities to create a Green Belt and Regional Hike & Bike Trail that connects the cities together - Promote the McAllen as a “Green” city </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Promote the key areas unique to McAllen such as: </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>#1 location in the nation for birding ($23 Billion industry) </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Located near one of the Top 10 beaches in the country (Discovery Channel) </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Low unemployment, stable housing market </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Mild climate year around </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Located at a international border of Mexico </li></ul></ul></ul>

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Other Promotion <ul><li>M.O.R.E. Ideas </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Business related </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Tax Incentives for new businesses moving into the area </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Send a McAllen Business Climate portfolio that speaks about large bilingual workforce, city incentives, low cost of living, etc. to factories, call centers, warehousing facilities in the U.S. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Attract a national home builder to the region - to build upscale homes for less to attract wealthier clients and keep real estate market thriving </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Encourage Young Entrepreneurs to stay in the region - create a virtual business center on city’s website with downloadable tools for business with news, templates, copies of business plans, create workshops on business networking, bid processes, and incentive program that helps first time business owners succeed. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Remember: </li></ul></ul><ul><li>M cAllen, O pportunities R eady to be E xperienced </li></ul>

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Success Metrics <ul><li>First year goals </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Create an integrated, customer-centric, cross-channel branding and marketing campaign to persuade customers to act, provide greater ROI, and ultimately improve the organization's bottom line. Create and promote a strong city brand that increases sales, business growth, tourism and resident loyalty for McAllen. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Build a link-building strategy to business websites, increase better search tags, increase web presence and traffic </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Collect data on: tax receipts, web traffic, messages using social media, polls at border crossing, license plates at shopping malls, brand buzz, customer satisfaction, net promoter indices, visitor engagement, Web clickstream data </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Do research on cities that are similar to McAllen and what they have done to brand their cities - Tucson, AZ - “Branding of Cities” by Julia Pfefferkorn at Syracuse University </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Measures of success of branding if there is an: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Increase in tax receipts </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Increase in attendance to festivals, Broadway in McAllen </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Increase in tourist count for birding, shopping, “Heads in Beds” through tour packages </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Increase in “word-of-mouth” or “buzz” feedback from residents (positive and negative) </li></ul></ul>